YAKUSHIMA, Kagoshima -- Beaches on this World Natural Heritage island are playing host to an abnormally early spawning season for sea turtles, apparently due to ocean temperature changes triggered by La Nina, experts say.Nagatahama beach in Yakushima, Kagoshima Prefecture, which hosts the country's largest spawning area for sea turtles, has seen out-of-season egg laying since November last year, while their normal spawning season is between late April and late July. It is the first time that sea turtles have been confirmed to have laid eggs in Yakushima during the winter.
Experts attribute the phenomenon to La Nina, which has raised the ocean temperatures around the feeding ground for sea turtles.
According to the nonprofit organization Yakushima Umigame-kan, which has been studying sea turtles in Nagatahama since 1985, a green turtle landed on the beach to lay eggs on four occasions between November last year and February this year. The turtle had a shell measuring 104.5 centimeters long and 74.6 centimeters wide. Read More
